Originally Posted by
repechage
If I read this correctly, you are stating that a more direct route from your headset to the bar center is not as good? From a STYLING view, yes reads "comfort" bike, aka $340. hybrid. Now the length is another story, if you cannot get the correct length with the rise, thats a supply problem.
Do note, I can ride a 2cm smaller frame with the same top tube on a 40's to 50's bike than a 70's frame as the saddle has a different dimension from rail to contact surface, but I like 8cm of drop from saddle to bars...old racers have a hard time doing otherwise. But I will admit, I ride on the hoods mostly, then get into the drops when the going gets Serious.
A distributor loves this compact geometry stuff, as noted makes the SKU's easier to manage, now there is a possible chance that a short top tube (effective horizontal length) MIGHT when mated to a long stem to get a good position will yield a better handling machine. I felt that way on an old criterium bike in the 70's, but NOT when going down hill, just around 90 degree turns.
well, carrying the idea to extremes, the ultimate result would be a vertical stem, with no offset at all. I've seen circus bikes set up this way, and I assume that they must want to turn very easily... We've had the stem offset discussion before; the issue still isn't settled in my mind. I have as little rise in my stem as I can get away with and that is more than likely because that is what I am used to...but I think that the bike behaves better. I also have about 8cm drop, and with the newer geometry and my old stem that put me down to about 12 or 13 or so.
And...I think that it looks ugly, too.
The real point of the note was that the (expensive) fork needs to be cut to length, and that may not work out for the next guy downstream. But, then again, the manufacturers probably don't want it to work out anyway.